Activity Review: Walkative Gdansk Old Town Tour
By far, one of our favorite activities is a good old fashion walking tour. Thanks to our great time with Walkative while in Warsaw, Krakow, and Wroclaw, we also joined their Gdansk Walkative Old Town tour.
We meet by the Golden Gate and thankfully they are still running tours in COVID times. Usually, there are tours at 10am and I highly recommend reserving your space because of potential COVID restrictions on group guide. Today, we had the awesome Filip as our guide!
Fun Gdansk History
Destroyed in the 14th century by Germans, beautiful Gdansk was rebuilt and the famous Market Street was built. Designed to bend, the street highlights town hall which ensured the population always saw who controlled the city. Of course it was the Germans who built this magnificent street!
Because of the unique position of the city, trade and merchants prospered and people flocked to live here. One of the most important groups were the Dutch. Because Gdansk use to be swamp land, Dutch thrived here as they were use to it in Netherlands! After dominating the city with trade and becoming prosperous, most of the city’s architecture is Dutch. We were wondering why the houses were tall and long rather than wide like German houses. Because people hate paying taxes, they designed their houses in this fashion because taxes were based on width rather than length.
Another famous architecture that is unique to Gdansk are the “puker” statues. As the Gdansk use to be swamp land, the rich and famous had elevated terraces. In order to avoid rejoining the swamp, they designed these funny statues that looked like they were puking! Sadly, a lot of these streets were very small and then destroyed to make the city more modern. However, there is still one street called St Mary’s that still has these awesome statues!
Great Polish Legacy
In the 15th century, Gdansk prospered and flourished under Polish rule. People estimate that most Polish goods were transported and sold in Gdansk. Although the city was in Poland, most people didn’t associate it with Poland because of all the merchant trade. Thus, it led to a dangerous game that eventually played its way in WW2…
The Beginning of War
Sadly, Gdansk knows the beginning of one of the worst tradegies. On 1 September 1940, the biggest world war began with shots fired just outside the city. Inside the city, the Polish army held out in the post office for an entire day but could not face the German onslaught. Some say it was here that the first atrocities were committed as most of the post office soldiers were killed in POW camps.
Similar to most Polish cities, over 70% of the city was destroyed when the Russians came through the city in March 1945. Because Gdansk was also a big German city (after all, it was founded by Germans!), the Russians took exception and literally moved everyone out and brought in a new generation. Thankfully, the city was rebuilt to its old design and is now the beautiful city!
Golden Gate
For our first stop, we went to the city’s famous Golden Gate. While the gate is not made out of gold, it represents the gold that the city collected! Built in the renaissance period, the gate is suppose to overwhelm you and welcome you into the fancy city. Historians estimate that the city took in 350,000 zl compared to 35,000zl for the entire country!
Hanging over the Golden Gate was the coat of arms. Listing the country, region, and city, the coat of arms also refers to the Prussia region, but most people do not fondly remember those times due to WW2.
The other interesting building nearby is the medieval walls, also called prisoner’s tower. While the building use to be the main defensive wall, it is now more famous for the prison. We saw the inside and outside cells and it looked miserable - especially in the winter!
Pretty Armory
Standing at the end of the beer street and near our hotel, the pinkest building in the city and possibly the world is the city’s armory! Rather than fairies and animals, the sculptures and artwork depict war. Usually, people assume that the building is a palace rather than a building of war.
Basilica of St Mary
Built as the biggest brick church in Europe and world, Basilica of St Mary is magnificent! Now we know what we view in our hotel room! Inside the church is a massive bell weighing 2.5 tons. At least we don’t hear it ringing in the morning! To reach the bell, one would have to climb 82 meters or 412 steps. Typical of Northern European architecture, the church’s facade is rather gloomy and boring so it doesn’t get as much acclaim as it should.
Gdansk City Hall
Towering over the city and streets is the famous city hall. Built in the 14th century, city hall is magnificent and is absolutely stunning. By far, the beautiful building is my favorite in all of Poland. I believe there isn’t a bad picture here! The surrounding houses use to be those of the rich and powerful and now hold fine restaurants and hotels. At the very top, the Polish king stares out.
Neptune Fountain and Merchant Guild
In the middle of the Long Street lies the famous Neptune Fountain. Combined with City Hall, the fountain makes a perfect postcard. Sitting behind the fountain is the merchant guild. It is such a beautiful building! Because these areas date back to the 1600s, they help date the city and bring it to life!
One other unique piece of history is the status to the inventor of Farinhent! Whilst not used by Europe anymore, they still mark the invention!
Beautiful Riverside
Home of 2,000 ships at its height, Gdansk’s riverside use to be jammed with ships that you couldn’t even see the buildings! Imagine those days were the ships would pack this what is now a tiny river! Because of this trade, there is a giant medieval crane overlooking the river. On one side lies the harbor and business and the other was the Long Street.
Similarly, the palace straddled both sides of the people. Known as the Green Gate, the royal palace possibly had the best views of the city! Between the Long Street and Harbor, I am not sure which view I would prefer!
Granary Island
On the other side of the river lies a very tiny island known as Granary. With loads of restaurants and fun bars, the island use to be all warehouses. Now, locals love the hip riverfront buildings. Most of my restaurant recommendations were on this tiny island!
The UnChartered Summary
Similar to our other walking tours, we loved learning about this new city through the eyes of a local! Between the fun history facts and the great restaurant recommendations, the tour is fantastic!
- The city is definitely one of the most beautiful ones that we have visited in Europe and the city still appears to be a hidden gem. I highly recommend it!
- Filip was a terrific guide and extremely passionate about his city especially the rebirth after WW2.